Miscellaneous Thoughts on Being an Outlander Fan

I still very well remember the moment, when I first heard that Sam Heughan was announced as guest at RingCon in Germany, which will take place next weekend. A friend of mine, who has been to several RingCons or HobbitCons in the past texted me, while I as in Scotland. I got that text on the Royal Mile in Edinbugh and dared not believe it at first. I went into the next café (the Coffee House), ordered a Latte, went online on my phone and checked out the convention’s website. And there he was :-) And even though I still thought it was too good to be true, I ordered my weekend ticket and booked my hotel that evening, when I got back to my B&B.

The “glass half empty” part of me is still a bit worried that Sam might cancel his appearance at RingCon next weekend. I can’t help it. I’m paranoid, I know, because Outlander is huge part of the RingCon programm this year, but still… *sigh* My anxieties drive me crazy sometimes.

This will be my 2nd convention, after having spend one day hat HobbitCon last year, because of Graham McTavish, mostly. I’ll be meeting up with some friends who are very experienced RingCon visitors, but not necessarily big fans of Outlander. Some have been fans of the books and enjoy the show , some like it ok, noone hates it, I think, so that’s good.

I haven’t made any new Outlander fans in real life yet and I was and still am a bit hesitant to be a more active member of various Outlander fangroups on Facebook or elsewhere. Mostly because I don’t like using Facebook that much, but also because by now I seem to shy away from all the “clique-forming and fighting and voting campagins” that seems to happen in TV fandoms these days all over the internet. I don’t know. It’s just not my thing (anymore?). The weird thing is, that when I had been more active in other TV fandoms before, I actually did meet some really nice people and made friends online and in real life. So I’m wondering if I’m not really missing out if I shy away from being more active in these fandoms.

But back to RingCon:

850 days after this (I still used my old nickname back then)

I will finally meet Sam! In real life!

I have no idea how that will go in the grand scheme of things, because that reply back then and every other reply I got from him on Twitter since sufficed to make me over-the-top giddy and excited every freaking time.

So I don’t know how I will react once I see him on stage. In the same room. With me (and hundreds of others, but still…). And then there is the autograph session where I have to stand in front of him and say something sensible while handing him the photo I’d like him to sign and handing over my present. And then there will be the photo-op. Where I will stand next to him. OMFG! Until this weekend the whole endeavour still seemed a bit unreal, but now it’s getting closer and closer and my giddy and excited might make way for a bundle of nerves and hyperventilation. I’m still very much looking forward to it, of course. Nerves and excitement are part of the whole deal, right?

I will probably spend every free minute this next week rehearsing in my mind what I want to ask during the Q&A at the panels or what I want to say to him once I’m standing in front of him. And next to him. Oh, dear!

Maybe I shouldn’t think about it so much in advance, because then I will be a bundle of nerves even days before the weekend.

Being a fan is nervewrecking sometimes, right? But it’s also sooooooo much fun!

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